You know it’s going to be a good wedding day when it starts before sunrise. On the morning of Laura and Matt’s wedding, we met them and their two friends at the Bear Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park. With everyone equipped with backpacks and headlamps, we headed up the trail a little before 5 am. Even though it was a weekend in July, there were only a few other hikers on the trail.

As the sun came up over the mountains, Laura and Matt changed into their wedding clothes and had their first look on a large rock above Nymph Lake. We then continued the hike up to Dream Lake, and the mountain glowed in the sunrise light. We took some time to breathe in the fresh mountain air and admire the views before hiking back down to the trailhead.

Laura + Matt invited about 25 guests to Colorado with them. So after they freshened up from the hike, everyone hopped in an old-fashioned trolley and headed to a nearby lake for their ceremony. The group stood in a big circle around Laura and Matt and by the time Matt got through his vows, everyone was wiping away tears. It was incredible to see them surrounded by so much love and support! After their ceremony, everyone celebrated with a champagne toast and then went back to Estes Park for the best post-wedding meal, tacos!

This elopement took place on Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Land.

Photographs

Colorado Elopements

Destination Elopements